Talking of an ordinary event does not involve much difficulty. However when the event is exceptional and represents a major turning point in certain events, then it is normal that any reading thereof would be subject to a number of factors, circumstances, and historical information linked to the timing of the event, its agent, the parties involved and its tools.
International Quds Day is one of the major historic events witnessed by the region and the world, at a critical and sensitive junction that wrapped within an extremely thorny and complicated political atmosphere.
Perhaps the importance of this day, as an event, stems from the cause it revolves around, the fact that its idea is original, and from the originator of the idea and maker of the event.
The very fact that this event has been renewed annually for the past 37 years, and is expanding both vertically and horizontally on the popular, elite, academic, Islamic, and international levels, means that it represents a renewing, active, and important event, and is not marginal or passing.
The cause from which International Quds Day was launched and around which it revolves is the Palestinian Cause, in its general sense and inclusive framework, which is the usurpation of the land, the violation of holy places and their sanctities, and the displacement of a people, by falsifying history, and creating baseless theories and religious beliefs. Despite much noise and widespread revolutionary slogans raised, up until days before the establishment of the Zionist entity in June 1948, and despite the subsequent wars fought by Arabs against the Zionists for decades, the reigning atmosphere in the general Arab view was that of defeatism and Arab weakness against Zionist haughtiness. This was all due to the nature of the reigning political systems in most Arab countries, and their suspicious ties to the major arrogant powers and their humiliating submissiveness to them, not to mention the scattering of Arab peoples, and the fact that they were busy and kept busy with their own concerns, problems, and crises, which were in large part fabricated by the same arrogant powers and ruling regimes.
Even those who wished to stand against the Zionist entity in all honesty, devotion, and bravery faced all kinds of pressures, plots, and were also targeted. This wasn’t unexpected within the Zionist entity or within the reigning Arab and Islamic realities in general.
Without a doubt, the Iranian Shah’s regime was one of the major regional powers that backed the Zionist regime. Its thunderous fall in February 1979, through a major revolution led by the late Imam Khomeini, was like a violent shock to the Zionist regime and all international and regional powers that support it. Iran, a main and strategic ally of the Zionist regime’s, was not its first enemy. Instead of the Israeli flag flapping in the skies of the Iranian capital, Tehran, the Palestinian flag replaced it shortly after the revolution. The Islamic revolution opened Iran’s doors wide open to Palestinian leaders and one of the most important standards maintained in its foreign relations with international and regional countries is the nature of its relations with the Zionist entity and its position vis-à-vis the Palestinian cause, a principled position that was not subject to narrow interests, because Iran suffered all kinds of political, military, media, psychological, and economic pressures and campaigns because of this principled stance.
As for the idea of designating a day to be Quds day on the last Friday of the month of Ramadan of every year, according to those who lived by Imam Khomeini’s side during the first stages of the revolution, the idea was the Imam’s, and no one nor any consulting team suggested it. He made this day an international day, through which he wanted to make a statement that the Palestinian cause is an international cause, not restricted to Arab-Islamic limitations, and has dimensions more humanitarian than political (meaning that is it not subject to personal agendas and interests).

In order for International Quds Day’s inclusive image to be further enforced, the month of Ramadan was chosen for its timing. It is known that the month of Ramadan holds special significance for Muslims in general, as the truths extracted from the Holy Quran and prophetic tradition reveal. Even more so, the last Friday of the month of Ramadan was chosen for this day, and Friday, in Islamic culture, is a blessed day. In other words, one can say the late Imam Khomeini wanted to make sure that the Palestinian cause would not be confined to narrow sectarian limits, and did so by choosing the Hijri calendar to remember it and keep it alive in the hearts and souls of Muslims, however different they may be politically, religiously, or ethnically.
The nature of the cause, the essence of the idea, necessitates pausing at the maker of the events, whom were it not for whose courage, wisdom, knowledge, and the power of his arguments, International Quds Day would not have taken the headlines of events every year, keeping the Palestinian cause as a priority among Muslim causes. Perhaps the most important point is that Imam Khomeini, did not seek to gain national gains for his country by doing so, but rather honestly sought to revive the cause that had become part of political deals at the expense of its people, its sanctities, and its history.
No one can deny or ignore the reality of the victories scored throughout the past three decades against the Zionist entity thanks to the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance movements (among others), after the support they found in the path taken by Imam Khomeini and his thought, along with their support by the Islamic Republic, in their struggle against the Zionist entity.
It would not be strange, or surprising, to know that one of the most bothersome and worrisome matters that plagues the Zionist entity and support powers is International Quds Day, and the multi-million strong protests seen on that day, from countries from without the Arab-Islamic world as well as within, as these marches include the different corners of the Western world, which in itself is the most powerful and clearest statement to the righteousness of the path and decision taken by the late Imam, and devoutly preserved by his successor.

The Sayyid is a network of interested people in
Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei’s personality and
thoughts.
The Sayyid network works as a source for people
generated materials regarding ideas and personality
of Ayatollah Khamenei.
The Sayyid network provides general understanding
of Ayatollah Khamenei’s intellectual contributions on
the socio-political, religious, economical, and cultural
issues.